State Fair Sales Break Last Year’s Record; More Than A Quarter Million Dollars In Prizes Claimed

Lottery sales at the West Virginia State Fair broke last year’s record by 10 percent, according to Lottery Director John Musgrave. He said instant ticket sales were nearly 7 percent higher than last year.

Musgrave said overall sales for the nine-day event totaled $251,221. Of that, $240,150 represented sales of instant game tickets, placing the State Fair in the number one slot among retailers statewide selling the instant scratch games in August. He said nearly $292,000 has been claimed so far, “and that doesn’t include low-tier prizes cashed by statewide retailers.”

“In nine days last year, the State Fair sold five times the number of instant tickets than our number two retailer sold in an entire month; this year, they sold six times more instant tickets than the number two retailer,” said Musgrave.

He said Joe’s Market in St. Albans ranks second for August instant game sales, having generated $39,200.

Musgrave said factors affecting sales included a near-record Powerball jackpot, which always has a significant impact on interest and overall sales. “But we can’t overlook the sheer number of people who attend the fair, as well as the lottery promotion that is run in support of the fair’s sales effort. Winners from more than 140,000 promotional tickets given away by the Lottery, as well as those won from tickets purchased from the fair, started rolling in a week ago.”

While all the fair’s prizes under $601 are claimed at lottery retail locations, Musgrave said top game prizes claimed so far by the Lottery’s office in Charleston include a $100,000 The Price Is Right® top prize, claimed by a resident of Fincastle, VA; two $2,000 prizes from Baa Baa Bucks claimed by residents of Rainelle and Cyclone; a $1,000 Veterans’ Cash prize won by a Huntington resident; two $3,000 Triple Dog Dare prizes claimed residents of White Sulphur Springs and Beckley; as well as a $1,000 Wet & Wild Ones prize won by a resident of Tazewell, VA.

“Since the fair was just over Aug. 22, those prizes will be coming in throughout the coming months,” Musgrave said. Lottery rules state that winners have 180 days from a drawing or the declared end of an instant game in which to claim prizes.